Sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama on Tuesday became the first black American to occupy the White House, fulfilling Martin Luther King's dream sooner than anyone had imagined.

Obama's rise from a small-time community worker to the most powerful man in the world marks a huge political transformation in a country with a racist past.

A votary of strong ties with India, the 47-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer assumed office 45 years after the black civil rights leader King challenged Americans to embrace his "dream" of equality. Click here to read further...

Image: US President Barack Obama waves to the crowd before giving his speech during the inauguration ceremony in Washington.
Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters